


The Blood of One's Brother

by PurpleArrowzandLeather



Category: Batman - All Media Types, Son of Batman (2014), Under the Red Hood
Genre: Hurt Damian, Kidnapping, Protective Jason Todd
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-15
Updated: 2018-09-15
Packaged: 2019-07-11 23:17:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,009
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15982586
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PurpleArrowzandLeather/pseuds/PurpleArrowzandLeather
Summary: The batboys along with the rest of the children of Gotham's elite are kidnapped for ransom. It's only when Damian's mouth gets him into trouble that things go wrong.





	The Blood of One's Brother

**Author's Note:**

> From danger to fluff. I just feel so nice sometimes.

          Jason comes around slowly, hearing voices around him. He opens his eyes just a fraction to avoid suspicion. The men chatter on, oblivious. 

          They're working for Black Mask, holding the children of Gotham's elite for ransom in order to pay off his debts. Jacob has two kids to feed, and if he doesn't get it together his wife is going to leave him. Billy has debts to fulfill, otherwise they're going to take his house. Carl just 'needs the money'. 

          Jason feels for them, he really does, but he doesn't really have a lot of sympathy for someone who kidnaps children. Especially if he's included in that list. He grins wryly. _If I had known that I was causing Black Mask so much trouble, I would have continued blowing up his shipments months ago instead of ignoring them because they weren't important._   _It's rude to keep a guy waiting, after all._

          Jason tugs at his restraints, finding that he's tied to three other people. They aren't tied up well, not by any means, but Jason doesn't want to make a move too early just in case someone ends up dead.

          "Tt."

          At the small noise, Jason realizes that one set of tied with his are tiny. He rubs his thumb over the knuckles, familiar ridges and scars crossing them. "Demon Brat?"

          "And Grayson. Drake, too." he shifts his hands a little. "Grayson has a head wound, and both are still unconscious."

          Jason is about to respond when the men quiet. He closes his mouth and lets himself go limp, closing his eyes. Damian does the same.

          "S'pose they're awake?"

          "Can't be. The drug should have 'em out for another eight hours."

          Jacob huffs. "That's what you said right before we tried to get the oldest one."

          "It's bad enough he got hurt. The boss won't be happy if somethin' happens to any of the others." Billy says, tone hushed. "He's not wrong though, Carl."

          "It worked just fine!" Carl objects. "He came into the coffee shop just fine." he scoffs. "Guy's supposed to be a cop and didn't realize that everyone in the shop was on Black Mask's payroll."

          "It took too long." Billy hisses.

          "He didn't drink as much of his coffee as I thought he would, okay? How is that my fault. Every other day, he's downed pretty much the whole thing in one go."

          Jason is frozen.  _Had Dick known?_ It's a startling thought to think he might not have, and that they got to him that easily. 

          One of the three kicks Jason to make sure he's still unconscious and Jason forces himself to react as such.

          "I'm just saying', Carl. He won't be happy. He's obviously got blood on his face." Billy grumbles.

          Jacob groans. "You know what, I'm gonna go on a food run. You guys can stay here and talk about whose ass is getting chewed when the boss gets here."

          They make requests and Jacob leaves, thudding footsteps retreating. Jason thinks it might be Carl who's doing the checking, and he reaches over Jason's ribcage to tug on the ropes, making sure they're still secure. There are a couple muffled thumps as he kicks Dick and Tim, and Damian groans.

          "Hey, I think the kid might be awake."

          "Make sure." Billy orders. 

          "Yeah, yeah. I'm on it. It shouldn't be possible- ARGHHHH! THE KID BIT ME!" 

          Jason holds back a grin, but his mirth is short-lived as Carl starts to kick Damian repeatedly. "Carl, stop! We aren't supposed to hurt them!"

          "Kid nearly took my finger off!"

          Damian spits. "That won't be the only thing I take. Not that you have much to lose."

          "He's asking for it!" Carl snaps, dragging Damian free.

          Jason would have broken loose right then if Damian hadn't squeezed his fingers.  _Trust me._  

          "Carl!" Billy barks. "Stop!"

          "Shut up!" he growls back, and Jason goes rigid as there's a gunshot. 

          Billy shouts, hitting the ground. He's bleeding quickly, if the blood that soon pools under Jason's hands is any indication. 

          "Rich kids!" Carl jeers. "We'll see how tough you are when I start breaking your fingers!"

          Jason's eyes snap open at Damian's first yelp of pain, roughly five minutes into his beating. Carl is panting, winded. Billy is lying on the ground in front of him, eyes glazed, but he notices Jason's blue eyes watching him. He looks at Jason, and then to Carl, and his mouth presses into a thin line. He doesn't say anything. 

          Damian gasps, coughing as a boot slams into his ribs and Jason can't just lie there anymore. He breaks loose, whipping around to face Carl. Damian is on the floor, bloody, and Jason seethes with rage.

          " ** _GET AWAY FROM MY BROTHER!_** " Every fiber of his being boils with fury as he hurls himself at Carl. 

          Red crowds Jason's vision as he bloodies his knuckles with Carl's face, only just holding himself back enough to not kill him in front of Damian. He crawls over to his little brother, chest heaving. He checks him over, and for the longest time, Damian is quiet.

          "Hey, kiddo. Can you hear me?" Damian groans. "Come on, brat. Wake up."

          " _Jason._ "

          Jason stills. Something must be horrible wrong for Damian to call him by his first name. He pulls Damian's upper body into his arms and Damian groans again, pressing his face into Jason's chest. 

          " _Jason._ " he murmurs.

          "Hey, it's okay. I'm right here, pipsqueak." He growls lowly and Jason chuckles. "That's it. Come on, kiddo."

          Jason wipes blood from Damian's nose, a breath of relief leaving him when he finds that it's not broken. Damian chokes back a whine of pain as Jason hugs him tightly, but he wraps his arms around Jason in return. 

          "Why?" Jason murmurs into Damian's hair. "Why didn't you fight back, kiddo?"

          Damian shifts, presumably to look at Billy. Billy is dead. "H-had to protect the.... secret."

          Jason shakes his head. "You listen to me, kiddo. I don't care of you have to tell the media that Bruce made you take self-defense or karate. You fight back, okay?"

          Damian nods, sinking into Jason's arms. Jason holds onto him, glancing back at his other two brothers who are still unconscious. The blood smeared on Dick's face is not a comfort. Damian trembles and Jason presses his face into Damian's hair. 

          Men flood into the room, having responded to the sounds of gunfire too late. They check Billy, finding him dead. The one giving orders, Jacob, comes cautiously towards Jason. Jason bristles, baring his teeth. Jacob gets low, dropping his weapon to the ground. Murderous light gleams in Jason's eyes and Jacob kicks the weapon away. 

          "Easy, kid. What happened?"

          Jason cradles Damian's head and the boy leans into him a little more. " _He happened._ "

          Jacob's gaze flicks to the still form of Carl. "He's not dead, is he?"

          Jason laughs darkly. "No, but soon he'll wish he _was._ "

          The comment startles Jacob. Jason can see it in his eyes, and he thinks for a second that the guy might flee for his life. It would be the smartest thing he's done all night.

          "So, what happened? You remember?"

          "My brother bit him and he went off. End of story."

          "Who shot Billy?"

          Jason glares, hackles rising as Jacob takes a step closer. He raises his hands in defense as Jason's expression twists into a snarl. "Get. Back." he hisses. 

          "Easy, just take it easy, kid." his eyes glance above Jason's head and he turns, catching a bat before they can knock him over the head with it and spins the weapon to flip it back on him.

          Once Jason is certain the man is unconscious, he drops the bat and resumes supporting Damian's head. Jason turns furious blue eyes on Jacob, and if looks could kill.... well, he thinks Jacob gets the idea.

          Sighing and running a hand over his buzz cut, Jacob gets up, letting the men know to leave the two alone. Jason relaxes as he retreats and Damian winces. 

          " _I shouldn't have let him hurt you, kiddo._ "

          Damian growls lightly, his voice softer than Jason has ever heard it. "Tt. It was my choice."

          "He would have killed you." Jason answers, pressing the side of his head against Damian's. "I'm supposed to protect you."

          "Job done, then." Damian huffs, groaning as he's jostled. 

          Jason chuckles weakly. "You would say that."

          "It's the truth."

          Jason sighs, just keeping his little brother close.  _Nobody gets to mess with my family and get away with it._

          The patrol comes through the room again sweeping over each group. Jason recognizes a few of the other kids from the news, but nothing comes to him name-wise. 

          The next hour passes in relative silence. Jason presses a hand to Damian's head and he moans. "You're gettin' awfully hot, kiddo."

          Damian shrugs, opening tired eyes as Jason shifts him around to give him his hoodie. It's huge on him, but at least he'll be warm. Jason wraps him up snug and picks him up in his arms, heading back over to Dick and Tim. No one stops him, sight-lines moving to look at Carl, who is still unconscious, breaths wheezing out of him. A spark of satisfaction brings a smirk to his face as he sits down next to his brothers, Damian squirming against his chest. 

          Just as the next sweep is completed, the doors slam open and Black Mask walks in. The men line up, swallowing as Mask looks over them with his beady eyes.

          "Now, what's this I hear about discourse in this operation?"

          Jacob steps up, glancing over at Jason. "I regret to report, sir, that we've got one casualty and one man in critical condition. Also, one of the kids is hurt pretty bad."

          "Did the man in critical have anything to do with the kid?"

          "He's over there." Jacob points to his still form.

          Mask hums, crouching down. "Who beat him up?"

          "The kid's older brother, sir."

          Mask's gaze lands on Jason and Jason bristles, eyes flashing with warning. Mask doesn't seem intimidated. He comes close, closer than even Jacob had dared to come. Jason grips Damian a little tighter, looking down at his face. Damian lips press into a thin line and Jason grimaces, steeling himself. Mask takes Damian from his arms, tossing him away. Damian groans, crawling to his feet and wrapping Jason's jacket tighter around himself. 

          Mask grips Jason's throat, picking him up. Jason growls, baring his teeth again as vehemence burns through him. 

          "You've got spirit, kid. Too bad it's for nothing."

          Jason wheezes and coughs as Mask's fist slams into his solar plexus. He's thrown to the ground and he crawls a couple of feet.

          "If you ever touch my little brother again, I will kill you." Jason hisses, glaring up at Mask.

          Mask laughs, the sound scratchy. "Big threat from a rich man's son." he lights a cigar, leaning down to puff smoke in Jason's face. His expensive shoes clack on the wooden floor as he moves over to Damian. He kicks Tim on the way by. "Let's see how far you're willing to go for the little brat, hmm?"

          Damian shrinks back, but it's not real fear. Mask hovers over Damian's skin with the burning end of his cigar and Jason springs, knocking Mask away. Mask tumbles with him, whipping him around and slamming him to the floor. 

          "You're one stupid kid."

          "Do it to me!" Jason snaps. "I don't care what you do to me, just leave him alone!"

          "Hmm." Mask deliberates. 

          Jason growls. "You hear me? You leave him alone or so help me, I will rip out your organs and strangle you with them."

          Mask laughs, loud and long, cuffing Jason on the head before ruffling his hair. "Keep talkin' big, kid. That look in your eye had me going for a second there." he gets up, walking away while straightening his white suit jacket. He turns his head to look back at Jason. "Oh, and, kid? Cause anymore trouble and you won't be the only one I burn."

          The door is closed for all of a second before Jason scurries over to Damian. "You okay, kiddo? You're not hurt?"

          Damian gives him a look. "Tt. Not anymore than before."

          Jason smiles weakly, ruffling Damian's hair before pulling him against his chest. Damian may be tough, but cigar burns are not something he'd want for anyone that he doesn't hate.

          "Todd, am I dying and you just haven't told me yet?"

          "What?"

          "You're acting strangely."

          Jason doesn't care. He's going to protect the demon brat with everything he's got because Damian's his little brother. "You're just in rough shape. No worries."

          Damian nods, turning into Jason's side where he can hold onto him and watch the guys in the warehouse. Jacob crouches nearby, but nothing so close as Black Mask.

          "That was some display, kid."

          Jason is resolutely silent, pressing his face into Damian's hair. Damian groans, cracking open a single blue eye to stare at Jacob. 

          "You know, Mask isn't wrong. I think most of the guys here almost wet their pants when you tackled the biggest mob boss in the city."

          "Not the biggest." Jason grumbles. 

          "Not anymore, maybe." Jacob nods. "That Red Hood has been taking everything over. Pretty soon it's gonna come down to the two of 'em."

          Jason scoffs. "Not if I get there first."

          Jacob chuckles, sitting down on the ground cross-legged. "I gotta admit. You are one brave kid for bein' the son of a billionaire."

          Jason gives Damian's shoulders a squeeze. "My dad's pretty brave too."

          "Wayne? We are talking about the same guy, aren't we?"

          Jason smirks, eyes betraying nothing.

          "Heh." Jacob chuckles nervously. "He some sorta ninja or somethin'?"

          Damian makes a choked noise and Jason hides a grin as he realizes it was a tiny little laugh. He pulls Damian a smidge closer and Damian subtly cuddles as much as he can, pain making him more susceptible to emotion. Jason chuckles.  _Makes it sound like a disease._  

          "Those are some protective instincts you'e got." Jacob says, his tone asking more questions than he does. "Pretty cuddly compared to earlier."

          Jason's eyes turn steely and he glares.

          "Aaand he's back. For a nineteen-year-old kid, you got some pretty crazy murder-eyes. Does your brother have 'em too?"

          Jason bristles at the mention of Damian and the gleam is back. Jacob puffs out a breath, eyes widening. 

          "Yeesh, kid. I was only asking. I'm hoping that curiosity doesn't kill this cat for a long time, but man, you've got that look that says you've already planned out my murder sixteen different ways."

          "Twenty-four." Jason mumbles.

          "What?"

          "There are twenty-four possible ways to kill you from where I'm sitting."

          Jacob blinks. "I don't believe you."

          Jason shrugs. "You don't have to. Just figured you should know."

          He looks a little concerned now, but he stays put, just watching them. Jason ignores the rest of his questions, ever-so-slightly rocking Damian back and forth. His fever gets higher and Jason gets a little more concerned when he groans, sweat beading on his forehead. 

          "You said twenty-four. I only count six."

          Jason doesn't dignify that with a response. 

          The next few hours are quiet, the silence only broken by kids being shuffled out for ransom videos. Mask comes for the Waynes himself. Jason isn't letting go of Damian this time and Mask grins as him, grabbing onto Dick and Tim's shirts and dragging them away. Jason picks up Damian and follows, Damian's short legs wrapping around Jason's waist. Damian's heartbeat thrums against Jason's chest and he puts a hand to the boy's forehead. Still too warm. He wraps an arm more securely around Damian, reaching his other hand up to stroke the short hairs at the nape of Damian's neck. Damian presses his face into Jason's shoulder, Jason's smooth walk more soothing than he would ever admit. 

          They come to a dark room and Mask dumps Dick and Tim in a heap. "Get on your knees, kid." he growls. 

          Jason scowls at him, shifting to sit while still holding Damian. Mask walks behind him and cuffs his head again. Jason lets his anger simmer a little, rubbing Damian's back. The video feed comes up on Bruce's main computer at work. He puts his pen down, turning to face the camera.

          Jason tries to smile. "Hey, dad."

          "Hey, kiddo."

          Mask steps in front of them. "That's enough. It's time to talk business."

          "What do you want?" he says evenly, though his words are clipped ever so slightly. 

          "What I want is 500 million dollars."

          Bruce raises a brow. "And?"

          Mask looks vaguely confused by Bruce's seeming lack of concern that his children are being held hostage. "Mr. Wayne. Maybe you aren't understanding the severity of this situation."

          "I understand it quite well." Bruce says coldly. "This is not my first rodeo, Mask, and I somehow doubt it will be the last. But there is one consistent thing about every kidnapping that my children have gone through, isn't there?"

          "And what might that be?"

          "No ransom money was ever delivered." Bruce says, turning in his chair. "So, here are my demands. You either let my sons go, or I will personally rain fire down on your entire life, take you to court and dig up information that you thought was buried years ago. I will take everything you've ever had, and find every last thing you've ever done. If you don't surrender now, the life of Brandon Sionis here in Gotham will be over, and this city will never have to see your face again."

          Mask stands dumbstruck. A swell of pity rises in Jason's chest for the poor man that doesn't heed the almighty words of Bruce Wayne when he's protecting his sons. 

          Mask clears his throat, straightening his tie. "You won't find anything."

          Bruce quirks a brow, turning to pull some files from his desk. "Full of paper, aren't they?" Bruce taunts. "Hmm, maybe I should do some light reading. See what turns up." he kicks his feet up on his own desk and Jason is amazed. "Underground weapons dealer, implicated but never charged. Oh, but wait a minute, it says here a gun with your fingerprints on it was logged but never tied in. Might just have to go over that one again." Bruce licks his fingertip, turning a page. "Drug rings. Quaint. Looks like you wore gloves here, but a blood sample was taken when you were put on trial, and it seems to match up with blood found on the floor in the Iceberg Lounge. That must have been buried pretty deep, huh?" he thumbs through a few more pages. "Drug rings  _again_. Not very subtle this time. A security feed placed you at the scene within minutes of the Red Hood torching the place. Not just the mask, but your _face_ , Sionis. Pretty coincidental, huh? All of this evidence that I've got here points directly to you." Bruce smirks. "I don't know. Think the police would have to try you for most of these? Not all of them, obviously, if you're read up on your politics, but most of these stacked up like this would keep you in prison for a long, long time." Bruce turns, pulling his feet down and facing the computer squarely. "So, think very,  _very_ carefully about where you want these files to go, Mr. Sionis. The police might just find a lot of this information helpful, but then again.... the file cabinet is just a few feet away."

          Sionis glares at Bruce for a long few minutes before growling. "Fine. You can have your kids. I don't need them."

          "Mine may be the ones you called for, but I do mean all of them. If one missing child isn't returned by the end of tonight, every file I have is going straight to a trusted officer of the law. You'll leave all the children at the GCPD."

          Mask is not happy, but he has to agree to Bruce's terms otherwise it's game-over. Jason has never felt such viscous glee outside of watching Bruce as Batman. When the feed clicks off, Mask rages, flipping the table in the room and hurling the phone at the wall. The laptop looks unharmed. 

          He orders soldiers in the room to drag the boys to the vehicles and Jacob escorts Jason as he holds a sleeping Damian in his arms. "I see what you mean about your old man being pretty scary."

          Jason avoids his gaze, pressing his face into Damian's hair. "When he needs to be."

          "Look, I know what you must think of me, kid, but not everybody gets honest work. I gotta live somehow."

          "I know. Wife and two kids."

          Jacob's eyes get a little rounder. "You were awake for all that?"

          "Yep. Whole spiel."

          Jacob shakes his head. "Kid, you are somethin' else."

          Jason hops up into the blue panel van next to his two unconscious brothers. "Guess so." 

          The doors shut and Damian comes around. "Where are we?"

          "We're on our way to the GCPD."

          Damian groans. "Fell asleep during father's demands."

          "It's okay. You can nap for a little longer, kiddo. We'll be home soon." Damian nods and falls asleep just as Tim and Dick are coming around. "Morning, sleeping beauties."

          Dick touches a hand to his head, groaning. "What happened?"

          "We were all kidnapped for ransom and Bruce just threatened Black Mask into giving us back, along with about twenty or so other kids."

          Dick's blue eyes widen. "We were asleep for all that?"

          "Yep, missed every bit of it."

          Dick pouts. "Darn. I always love watching Bruce save the day as himself."

          Jason grins. "Well, you missed out this time, but I will say this. It _was_ pretty epic."

          Tim sits up, blinking tired eyes and yawning. "That's the best nap I've had in a while."

          "Tim, you were drugged and kidnapped."

          "Doesn't matter. Still true."

          Jason just shakes his head, rocking with the can on the long ride back to GCPD. Bruce is waiting for them when they arrive along with other parents. Bruce gathers them into his arms. 

          "My boys." he says, a possessive lilt to his voice.

          Jason stands aside, Damian still in his arms. Bruce tugs at Jason's white streak and ruffles Tim's long hair. He presses a hand to the side of Dick's face and he leans into it just enough to make Bruce happy. Bruce smiles softly at Damian's face, his cheek smushed against Jason's shoulder. 

          "We're going home." Bruce says, inclining his head towards the car. Alfred is in the driver's seat, waiting patiently. "I already filled out my report and gave it to Commissioner Gordon."

          Bruce opens the door for them and they get inside. They head home and Bruce pushes them all into the den. Dick and Tim set to work on making a huge nest in the middle and Bruce throws pillows on it when they're done. Before bed, Alfred brings in a tray of medical supplies, cleaning up Dick's face and putting a butterfly bandage on his temple. He takes Damian's temperature and makes him down some medicine, regrettably having to wake him. He puts in some stitches as quickly as possible and Damian is handed off to Bruce. Bruce handles him with care as he lays him down and Jason squeezes in next to him. Tim and Dick curl as close as they can to Bruce's left side as Alfred gets the fire rolling. 

          There's a scattered murmuring of thanks to Alfred and he smiles ever so slightly. Jason smiles drifting off into a dreamless sleep.

          He's gently roused for a few seconds at Bruce's low rumble. "Night, boys. Love you."

          Jason sighs as Bruce's hand tugs at his white streak again. "Night, B. Thanks for the rescue."

          "It was my pleasure, kiddo."

          Jason can hear other heads being patted and rubbed, and he's swallowed in the blissful abyss of content.

**Author's Note:**

> If you want '24 Ways to Kill a Jacob', just ask. I do have the list. I didn't put it in because it's gruesome, morbid and boring to read if you aren't that interested.  
> Otherwise, I hope you enjoyed it! Thanks for reading!


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